INDIA
DEFENCE CONSULTANTS
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WHAT'S
HOT? –– ANALYSIS OF RECENT HAPPENINGS |
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Stealthy Trimarans For Littoral Warfare & EEZ
Policing By Prasun K. Sengupta
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New
Delhi, 26 October 2005
China’s
state-owned China State Shipbuilding & Trading Corp (CSTC),
which has todate already supplied offshore patrol vessels, inshore
patrol boats and guided-missile frigates to ASEAN member-nations
such as Cambodia, Thailand and The Philippines, is now poised to
enter the Malaysian and Indonesian markets by offering boats like
the 15,000-tonne multi-purpose support vessel (better known as a
landing platform deck), 2,000-tonne offshore patrol vessel (like the
two boats now being fitted out for the Royal Thai Navy), and most
notably, unique stealthy Trimarans for undertaking both littoral
warfare operations as well as exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
policing. Thus
far, CSTC’s Shanghai-based Qiuxin Shipyard has built four
trimarans of the Houbei-class (with pennant nos 2208, 2209, 2210 and
2211), with another two now being fitted out. All six trimarans,
based on a unique wave-piercing catamaran hull with stealth
features, will serve with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s
Navy (PLAN). The first vessel (pennant number 2208) was launched in
April 2004 and was commissioned into service late last year. The
use of an advanced trimaran hull shows that CSTC has been able to
incorporate and apply advanced European and Australian fast-ferry
technologies faster than the US. The trimaran hull configuration
also confers greater high-speed capability in bad weather, while
providing a large deck space for multiple uses. Incidentally, CSTC
is the world’s first shipbuilder to have designed and series-built
such stealthy trimarans for operational use. For
waging littoral warfare and sea denial operations, the trimaran
comes equipped with eight CPMIEC-built 200km-range C-803K anti-ship
cruise missiles mounted on twin, inclined quad launchers mounted aft
of the vessel; a single six-barrelled 30mm gatling gun mounted fore
of the bridge, and twin chaff/flare countermeasures launchers. The
bridge houses a digital, integrated platform management system,
while the single inclined mast above the bridge houses a combined
surface surveillance/air search radar with a 360-degree rotating
antenna, along with an ESM sensor and EW jammer, marine navigation
radar, FLIR turret, and communications antennae. For close air
defence, a single FL-2000 system comprising a quad-launcher
containing four FLS-1 VSHORADS IR/laser-guided missiles can be
carried on board. The anti-submarine warfare variant of the trimaran
can be employed for combined ASW operations with diesel-electric
submarines, and can be equipped with ASW mortars or multi-barrel
rocket launchers instead of the C-803K missiles, along with a
dipping sonar. The trimaran’s powerplant comprises twin diesel
engine-driven waterjets delivering a maximum speed exceeding 32
Knots, and the total crew complement is around 20. The trimaran’s EEZ patrol variant can be equipped with a lighter armament package, but the sensor suite is retained. As part of network-enabled operations, the vessel, when equipped with secure data links, can also act as a two-way data relay (signals repeater) station for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), thus in essence doubling the UAV’s surveillance envelope over the EEZ.
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